Tecan, Luminex collaborate to develop automated newborn screening solution

The Tecan Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: TECN) and Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: LMNX) have announced that they will collaborate on the development of a new automated newborn screening solution that will provide faster results for infants' potential health concerns.  The companies have entered into a global OEM agreement that allows them to combine Luminex® xMAP® technology and LX 200™ instrument with Tecan's flexible and reliable Freedom EVO® liquid handling platform and HydroFlex™ washer.  The new automated newborn screening solution will help laboratories enhance efficiency, save vital resources and analyze more samples more quickly.  Luminex expects to launch the automated newborn screening solution in 2011.

Thomas Bachmann, CEO of Tecan, said: "We are delighted that we have been chosen by Luminex to supply a fully automated solution for such an important application. This global OEM agreement is building on a long, well established partnership of creating the most advanced automated solutions in the research market for Luminex xMAP technology."

Luminex xMAP technology enables large numbers of biological tests to be conducted simultaneously and analyzed quickly, cost-effectively and accurately. Once it receives regulatory clearance, NeoPlex4™ will be a fully automated, walk-away testing platform for multiplexed newborn screening.  These high-volume screening assays test newborn infants for several different biomarkers linked to critical diseases.  Each of these conditions can cause severe mental and physical disability if untreated.  If detected early through testing, effective treatment can be initiated.  Multiplexing these tests together from one sample offers significant improvements in testing efficiency.

Patrick Balthrop, CEO of Luminex, said: "Automation continues to be a top priority for Luminex and our customers.  The high testing volumes in the newborn screening market require full sample-to-answer automation for the thousands of specimens processed by each customer per day.  We evaluated several different robotic solutions to achieve this full automation for our xMAP technology and determined that Tecan was the best option available for this application.  We have had a very effective relationship with Tecan and we are proud to be partnered with them in this effort."